


Unexpected Romance Route

by aj_linguistik



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… | My Next Life as a Villainess (Anime)
Genre: Crack Crossover, Crack Relationships, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, F/M, First Dates, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24610447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: Katarina stumbles into an oddly familiar setting one day when trying to find Maria. What she knows is that it's setting off some memory from her past life- what she doesn't know is where this familiar encounter will lead her: right into a date with an unexpected person!
Relationships: Haninozuka Mitsukuni/Katarina Claes
Comments: 24
Kudos: 68





	Unexpected Romance Route

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay, for starters- a disclaimer. I haven't read the light novel. I've only seen the anime. So I apologize greatly if someone seems a bit too OOC, I'm just going off of limited knowledge! That aside!
> 
> I had a bit of a moment while I was watching Ouran with my partner and was like *holy shit these two would low key cute sitting together eating cake* and for half a second I said no! What! What have you SHIPPED! When I'm already a multishipping mess in both Ouran and what I've seen of Hamefura. NEVERTHELESS. Someone prodded me and just said okay, write the thing! Could be cute! So, while this might seem silly or just very left-field, I hope it's either fun, a good laugh at the ridiculousness of it, or something you can facepalm at.

Down at the end of the hall, in a classroom labeled “Music Room 3,” a most unexpected encounter occurred between unusually kindred spirits—a boy meets girl sort of thing, or perhaps the other way around. Katarina was intending to locate Maria (as she’d arranged for a picnic with her out in the courtyard later, and she couldn’t miss that!), but she found herself stumbling into this room and blinking at the bright lights that met her within. Rose petals fluttered around her, dancing on imaginary wind, and her vision finally cleared up. 

Standing before her were seven rather dashing young men in matching suits, each gazing at her rather lovingly as they offered her their hands. Something about this setup seemed vaguely familiar. As music filled her ears, seemingly coming from nowhere, the realization hit her square in the chest as they opened their mouths to greet her.

“Welcome, princess, to the host club!”

_There’s a host club here?! I don’t remember this!_

But she didn’t have much time to think about that as the taller blond boy in front grasped her hand, whirled her around, and then dipped her.

“What are you searching for today, milady?” he said, his voice dripping with passion. “A dashing princely type to sweep you off of your feet? Or perhaps the strong, silent type? The cool, collected gentleman? Deep, brotherly love? Maybe the boy Lolita?”

Katarina felt a bit overwhelmed by his closeness. She’d seen this somewhere before. It was so painfully familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. This wasn’t an element of Fortune Lover, she was certain of that. She felt the blond boy release her. She shook her head and blinked at him. A boy with brown, short locks appeared to have whacked him.

“Senpai! Can’t you tell she’s uncomfortable? I don’t think she’s here to be a guest!” he complained.

Embarrassed, she waved her hands.

“No, no, I was just thrown off!” she said, awkwardly laughing. “I was actually looking for my friend Maria…”

Her voice trailed off. The shortest of the boys, the one who clearly fit the first boy’s description of a boy Lolita, walked up to her and held up a rather decadent-looking piece of cake. She felt her mouth start to water. It looked like a delicious slice. She could afford to stay here for a piece of cake, right?

“It seems we have a winner,” the boy with glasses said. “Honey, why don’t you escort our new guest?”

The boy holding the cake beamed up at her. She felt her heart skip a beat. He was extremely cute—her otaku heart couldn’t handle it. His smile was so warm and adorable that she could feel herself falling for his almost puppy eyes look.

“You can call me Honey!” he said, giggling as if excited. “What’s your name?”

She had to break herself out of her wandering thoughts.

“K-Katarina Claes,” she said.

He reached up to grasp her hand.

“Well, Katarina, do you wanna share some cake with me?” he asked.

Between his bubbly tone and the offer of sweets, how could she refuse such a thing. Her impulsiveness wanted to jump right on such an occasion. What was the harm? She quickly ran over the scenario in her head. Her self-image stepped up and waved a stick at the imaginary screen, pointing to Honey offering her cake.

“So, we’ve encountered an event which appears to have either escaped our memory or not occurred in Fortune Lover: discuss!”

One Katarina adjusted her glasses.

“This likely will have no outcome which leads to a Doom Flag, but we should be careful! This could be a trap!”

Another placed her hand on her cheeks.

“Ah, but he’s offering Katarina such delicious looking sweets! It would be a shame for her not to partake!”

A fourth sighed and looked longingly up at the screen, clearly desperate to taste the cake. The first groaned, but she slammed down her gavel.

“It seems we already have a majority vote,” she conceded.

The third Katarina pumped her fist in the air.

“Cake time! Yahoo!”

Externally, Katarina smiled down at her host, who was patiently waiting for her answer. She gave him a cheerful nod, at which he giggled with delight and then whisked her away to a small tea table covered with sweet things. Her eyes lit up immediately as she gazed down over the spread. Honey grinned at her pleasantly.

“Katarina, do you like sweets, too?” he asked.

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Can I eat these?” she asked, barely able to control her excitement.

Honey nodded his head.

“Eat as much as you like! Kyo-chan orders enough for everyone!” he said.

The news delighted her so much, she wasn’t even sure where to start. Honey’s table was so filled with sweets that it was almost overwhelming. Cake, pie, macarons, eclairs, crème puffs, candies—the list went on and on. Even his selection of tea was sweet and stirred with just enough honey to give it that pleasant, sugary flavor.

“I’ve never met someone who was as into sweets as I am,” Honey said. “I’m so glad you stopped by today, Rina-chan!”

Katarina once again felt the otome gamer in her soul squeal with delight.

_He already gave me a nickname that’s so cuuuute!_

“How would you like to go on a real date sometime?”

The question slammed everything to a stop. Her racing mind, enjoying the cuteness of it all. The activity of the host club around them. Even that mysterious, source-less music seemed to halt. She blinked over at him, unsure if she’d heard him correctly. She tilted her head for a moment, as all eyes in the host club were on them, staring intently at the scene as they waited for her response. When she didn’t give an immediate answer, Honey spoke again.

“We could go to this fancy cake place in town!” he suggested. “I think you’d love it there! You’re not from around here, are you? The Claes family lives a bit far out, so maybe you haven’t heard of this shop before!”

It was all he’d needed to say to sell her on it. Girls all around them were leaning in as they waited, with bated breath, for her answer. Katarina swallowed the cake in her mouth and then gave him her best bright smile.

“I’d love to go with you!” she said.

The room erupted into squeals of delight. Ah, she was in a room full of people with kindred spirits. Maybe she’d try to befriend some of these people with Sophia. They might be into romance novels, too! It was as close as she’d ever get to having otaku friends here. She made a mental note to bring Sophia back here later.

Honey gave her a date and a location to meet him at. She cheerfully accepted and took her leave, as the entire set of hosts reminded her that she was always welcome to come and be a regular guest at the club. She wasn’t so sure about how she felt about that, but she dashed off to find her friends and fill them in on her exciting future cake date.

The response she received was a table of confused looks. They all seemed shocked to learn about the existence of this host club, and they, too, had never heard of such a thing being present in their school. In fact, the concept seemed completely foreign to them, which made sense. That, and another strange point was made, coming directly from Maria.

“I’ve never met someone named Honey at this school,” she said. “What year is he?”

Katarina hummed.

“A third year, even though he doesn’t quite look it!” she said. “He said he’s going to take me to a fancy cake shop in town!”

Her eyes were positively sparkling.

“You didn’t happen to mention that you had a fiancé, did you?” Geordo asked.

Did he seem a bit irritated? She wondered what could have possibly put him off. She shook her head, though. She’d told him many times that he didn’t need to feel obligated to her. When would he understand he was free to choose whomever he wanted? She waved her hands, noticing that he seemed a tad _more_ bothered when she’d shaken her head.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” she said. “It’s just a date to eat some sweets!”

The party at her table could not seem to disagree more. Mary crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

“I can’t bear the thought! What right does he have to come in and steal away our Katarina?” she muttered.

Sophia gazed down at her hands, saying nothing. Alan, too, seemed to have about as much input as Nicol usually did. It was only Maria who seemed to brush off the awkwardness of the group, as expected of the kind-hearted, cute protagonist.

“I hope you two have a lovely time!” she said, offering her a signature heroine smile.

She grasped Maria’s hands, unable to handle how cute she was.

“Thank you, Maria-chan!” she cried. “I promise I’ll come back and eat more of your sweets, too!”

That got a small chuckle from Alan.

“That’s our Katarina,” he mumbled. “Bouncing from one sweets session to the next.”

The others nodded in solemn agreement. There would be no preventing this event. It was set a week from the day he’d asked her, so she had plenty of time to select an outfit for the outing. She asked Anne for advice on a good dress to wear out for a cake-eating date, to which Anne seemed a bit exasperated that she would be going on a date like that in the first place. Still, there was a kind smile on Anne’s face as she helped her pick something out for the big day.

The night before, Katarina clutched her pillow in her arms. It was going to be an exciting first date in this world. The destination was the place of dreams, and the escort was a gentleman as much as in love with sweets as she was—it was a match made in heaven! Had she already told herself that? She shook her head, trying not to squeal with delight. Once more, she went over it in her head, making sure this wasn’t some trap to set her up for a Doom Flag.

“We must prepare ourselves for this unexpected event: a date with a dashing young Lolita boy named Honey!”

The gavel slammed down, beginning the brainstorming session.

“Doesn’t something seem particularly familiar about this character?” the Katarina with glasses said, once again tapping her spectacles. “The loli air, the cute eyes, the little rabbit he was clutching that we didn’t pay attention to while Katarina stuffed her face with sweets? Was he from Fortune Lover at all?”

One Katarina was lying on the table, humming in thought.

“Perhaps he was from a different otome game?” she suggested with a yawn. “Or perhaps a manga…”

A Katarina with a worried frown tapped her forehead.

“Dashing boys in a music room…lots of use of rose petals…a boy who eats so much cake it’s a danger to his health?” she muttered. “We’ve seen this before! We’ve seen it somewhere!”

The one lying on the table snapped up.

“I know!” she gasped.

The others all turned to stare at her.

“It was an anime! And a manga!” she said. “It ran in LaLa magazine for eight years, and it had a twenty-six-episode anime!”

The whole table went silent with realization. No one wanted to voice it. This wasn’t an element of Fortune Lover at all. This was an incorporation they hadn’t seen coming. How did it play into the game? Would it raise a Doom Flag? The air was thick with worry. Finally, the first Katarina slammed down her gavel, sighing.

“We will proceed with the date out of interest for the cake, and if something tips off a Doom Flag, we will make sure to have a toy snake in our pocket!”

If only she’d remembered that Haninozuka Mitsukuni, also known as Honey-senpai of the Ouran Academy Host Club, was a foe to fear when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

With this blissful unawareness, Katarina woke that day and spent half of her day in class dreaming about the kinds of cakes she would encounter on her date that afternoon. A few of the teachers had to snap her out of it, and she dreaded the thought of having to beg Keith for help with her homework at a later date. But for now, she focused on her impending sweet-treat extravaganza. The day seemingly flew by as she daydreamed, and before she knew it, she was out in the courtyard, greeting Honey with a smile.

“I’m so excited for our date, Rina-chan!” he said, practically leaping in place. “I’ve been thinking about all of the cakes we’re going to eat all day today!”

Yes, they truly _were_ a match made in heaven!

“Ahhh, me too!” she said.

Keeping in line with his host club manners, he took her by the hand and led her over to a carriage. This, naturally, wasn’t something that would have made sense in the context of Honey’s original source material, but she’d give that a pass. A limousine probably would stand out as too bold in a setting like Fortune Lover’s. As they sat in the carriage on their way to the town, they excitedly discussed their favorite sweets and chefs.

“Wow, Rina-chan, your friend Maria sounds like a really good baker!” Honey said at one point. “I’d really love to try her sweets sometime! You’ll really have to introduce me!”

Katarina nodded enthusiastically.

“Would you believe the student council wouldn’t even try them because she’s a commoner?” she lamented. “Such horrible treatment of Maria-chan and her amazing treats!”

Honey’s eyes appeared to tear up at the mere thought of someone discriminating against good sweets.

“Being a commoner doesn’t mean anything!” he said. “Haru-chan’s a commoner!”

She wasn’t one-hundred percent sure if things still matched up the same, but it was safe to presume he meant Fujioka Haruhi, the brown-haired individual she’d seen whack the dramatic blond leader of the host club—who she could probably safely assume was Suoh Tamaki. Remembering these characters helped her to avoid asking awkward questions. Honey rambled on for a bit about Haruhi, being particularly careful not to spill to Katarina that Haruhi wasn’t male. She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. She already knew.

At long last, the carriage came to a stop. The two exited the cabin and Honey grasped her hand, giggling as he did so, and whisked her down the street at a quick, yet gentle speed. He proudly waved his hand up at the cake shop in question—a cute little French-style boutique that made her forget, for a moment, that she wasn’t looking at a stylized shop back in Japan. This was merely a coincidence, since France nor Japan existed inside of the world of Fortune Lover.

The interior was just as cute as its exterior. It had some outdoor seating in the square, but one had to go inside to view the cake selections. When they entered the shop, the man behind the counter came over and greeted them both warmly.

“Ah! Lord Haninozuka!” he said. “It’s always such a pleasure to have your business! And who might this fine lady be with you today!”

Honey beamed up at him.

“Lady Katarina Claes!” he said. “We’re here on a date! I told her you had the best cake shop in town! Rina-chan really loves sweets!”

The man nodded his head, looking even more pleased than before. The compliment had gone straight to his head. He waved them over to the selections. More flavors and styles of cakes than had ever crossed Katarina’s mind were on display, and he hinted at some special flavors he shared with certain very important customers that weren’t out for display. She couldn’t even decide. Too many of them sounded perfect, and the thought of each melting in her mouth delighted her to no end.

“Too many choices, Rina-chan?” Honey asked, looking a bit worried.

She held her hand to her mouth. He was so adorable. She found herself nodding.

“I want to just try them all!” she lamented. “They all look so wonderful! Ahhh!”

His worry vanished in a flash. It was replaced by sparkling, eager eyes and a grin so wide she could imagine it cartoonishly taking up his entire face. Honey turned to the man and gave him a wave.

“We’ll take a sample of everything for the both of us!”

It was too good to be true. They waited outside for their first round of cakes. They were delivered on cute tea-set plates that had patterned roses on the outer rim and gold leaf on the edges. It was served with matching teacups, filled to the brim with a sweet tea that the staff insisted was a favorite of Honey’s. She’d never felt such bliss in all of her life. A date in which they were both smiling and enjoying sweets to the fullest—she couldn’t ask for a better romantic setup.

“These are all so perfect!” she exclaimed.

Behind them, the baker beamed, pleased with himself once again.

“Shall we come sometime again, Rina-chan?” Honey asked. “I could go on a thousand dates with you! There are other sweets shops I could show you, too!”

She was too absorbed in the cake-heaven she’d found herself that she didn’t realize she’d accepted his offer again. When she plopped down on her bed that evening, over-stuffed from cake but thoroughly satisfied, she let out a deep sigh as Geordo stood by, clutching the slip of paper announcing the second date’s time and location on it. His earlier irritation was present again. Wait, why was he in her room again?

“Is something the matter, Prince Geordo?” she asked.

He gave her one of those smiles that reminded her of his character in Fortune Lover. It was handsome but hinted at that sadistic black-hearted prince he never displayed here. She told herself to ignore it. It was probably all in her head.

“Another date, Lady Katarina?” he said, sounding a bit sarcastic.

She nodded.

“This time, to a specialty sweets shop!” she said.

Her mouth was already drooling, something quite unbecoming of her status. Geordo’s lips pursed a bit.

“I see,” he said.

She ignored his comment and sighed, already imagining the sweets shop. It was going to be another great date. But first, she had to get through another week of school. Her expression fell a bit.

“A-ah…” she said.

Geordo tilted his head a bit.

“I haven’t started my homework…” she sighed.

She’d have to conquer that before she went out again. Oh well.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I appreciate it very much if you gave this a try! Please let me know what you think, good or bad! For anyone unfamiliar with my work, I moderate my comments so I get a nice ping every time I get one and can respond! (And if you're shy and have comment anxiety, no sweat, your time is still very appreciated and thank you SO VERY MUCH for reading!)


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